Elotuzumab and dexamethasone for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma patients: A retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of elotuzumab and dexamethasone (Ed) for relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) patients. METHOD: This retrospective study evaluated the efficacy and safety of Ed treatment for 21 RRMM patients, 11 of whom were considered lenalidomide-refractory, and all of whom had progressed on at least 1 prior steroid-containing regimen. We also evaluated the efficacy of adding lenalidomide to a subset of patients following progression from Ed. RESULTS: The overall response rate (ORR) and clinical benefit rate (CBR) of Ed were 10% and 19%, respectively. An additional 52% of patients demonstrated stable disease as their best response. The median PFS was 1.8 months on Ed for all patients. Fifteen patients received ERd following progression on Ed, and 60% of these patients were lenalidomide-refractory. The ORR and CBR were 20% and 33%, respectively, and the median PFS was 3.4 months. CONCLUSION: Our results suggest that some patients can benefit from Ed without an accompanying immunomodulatory agent and that efficacy can be achieved with the addition of lenalidomide at the time of progression. No new safety signals were detected, except for thrombocytopenia in 1 patient on Ed.

Dermal carotenoid measurement is inversely related to anxiety in patients with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the most prevalent malignancy among women worldwide. Increased oxidative stress and poor subjective health outcomes have been associated with increased risk of cancer recurrence and metastasis, but few studies until now have explored the relationship between oxidative stress and chronic stress/anxiety. This study aims to examine the association between anxiety and a potential dermal correlate of oxidative stress in patients with breast cancer. 102 breast cancer patients were enrolled in a cross-sectional study at Highland Hospital, a county hospital in Oakland, California. Each participant's skin carotenoid score (SCS), a potential dermal correlate of oxidative stress, was recorded via Raman spectroscopy. Patient demographics, breast cancer stage, and subjective health measures (anxiety and self-rated health) were ascertained. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed to quantify any associations between SCS and the above health correlates. Higher levels of skin carotenoids were associated with decreased severity of anxiety, lower BMI, increased servings of vegetables/fruits in daily diet, Hispanic race, lower educational status, and nonsmoking status. Severity of anxiety as graded by the GAD-7 was inversely associated with dermal carotenoid measurements via SCS. CONCLUSIONS: Increased levels of oxidative stress as quantified by SCS is associated with greater severity of anxiety. Because chronic stress has been associated with tumor progression, increased recurrence rates, and increased metastatic risk in breast cancer,non-invasive dermal carotenoid measurements could be used as a novel objective correlate of subjective health during cancer treatment.